


Proxy

by CDNCrow



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 22:51:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12851223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CDNCrow/pseuds/CDNCrow
Summary: “I'll bring us through this. As always, I'll carry you - kicking and screaming - and in the end you will thank me.”





	Proxy

Glancing around the unremarkable office, Judy tried not to fidget in the overly large chair she occupied. Across from her, a middle-aged antelope quietly waited, a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

“So, what’s up, doc?”

The antelope raised an eyebrow at her quip, but didn’t comment.

“Heh...sorry. Rabbit humor.”

“Am I making you nervous, Judy?”

“Of course not.”

“Are you sure?” He pressed.

“Yes. I mean, not really. A little, maybe?”

“Why do you think that is?”

Judy shrugged. “Isn’t everyone a little nervous talking to a psychiatrist?”

“Why should that be the case?”

“I...it’s just...look, Doctor…” She drew the word out, eyes darting around the room again in search of a diploma or business card.

“Akili.” He supplied, seemingly not offended at having to remind her.

“Akili.” She repeated. “I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I’m a little wary of anything that might set me back. That includes being ordered to talk to a psychiatrist.”

“You were ordered to be here?”

Judy nodded. “Chief Bogo said I had to come talk to you. Didn’t really give me a choice in the matter, actually.”

“It sounds like you resent that order.” He furrowed his brow when Judy let out a small giggle. “Did I say something funny?”

“Sort of. That’s just the first thing you’ve said since I got here that wasn’t a question.”

“Part of the job, I’m afraid.” Akili admitted, offering her a small smile. “You didn’t answer, though. Do you resent being ordered to come here?”

“Not exactly...” She gestured vaguely with one paw. “I mean, I understand it’s standard procedure for an officer to attend counselling following a traumatic experience.”

“But…”

Judy huffed, crossing her arms as she slouched back into the chair. “But I don’t like being treated as though I’m made of glass.”

Akili hummed noncommittally, scribbling down a quick note. “So then, why do _you_ think you’re here? Because it’s standard procedure, or because your superiors doubt your capability?”

She looked away with a frown, offering no further response.

“Alright, we can come back to that.” He flipped the page on his notepad. “Let’s discuss the Missing Mammals case.”

Judy snorted, blushing embarrassedly when the antelope peered at her in amusement. “Sorry. That was rude.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s just that it turned out to be a _lot_ bigger than just some missing mammals.”

“How so?”

Judy stared at him incredulously. “Seriously? Don’t you watch TV? It’s pretty much dominated the news cycle for weeks.”

Akili smiled patiently. “Let’s pretend I don’t.”

“Well, after I discovered that the missing mammals were being held captive by Mayor Lionheart, at first it looked like the missing predators had all...y’know...gone savage.” She cleared her throat awkwardly before continuing. “Later, I realized that they were actually under the influence of a toxic flower called _Midnicampum Holicithias_ or Nighthowlers. It was all part of a plot by Assistant Mayor Bellwether to seize control of the city.”

“And you prevented that from happening?”

She blushed again, looking away. “Well, I didn’t do it alone, of course.”

“You didn’t?”

“Nope. I had help from my friend, a fox named Nick Wilde. I couldn’t have solved the case without him.”

“Would you mind telling me more about him?”

“Sure...I guess.” Judy responded, a little surprised by the sudden shift in the conversation. “What would you like to know?”

“Why don’t you start from the beginning? When did the two of you meet?”

She looked away again, smiling lightly. “It was my first day with the ZPD, actually. I was on parking duty and saw him walking on the other side of the street. He seemed like he was up to something, so I followed him into this ice cream shop.”

“What was he doing that you saw as suspicious?”

“He was...um...the thing is, he’s a fox.” She held her paws up, as if to deflect any recriminations the doctor might throw back at her. “I know how it sounds, but it’s not like that! It’s just...y’know, growing up in Bunnyburrow... I guess some ideas just rubbed off on me. Anyway, he and a friend of his were pretending to be a father and son. See, his friend was a fennec fox, so he was much smaller than Nick. I didn’t know that at the time, you understand.”

“Of course.”

“Well, they were playing it like he just wanted to buy a jumbo-pop for his ‘son’...” She continued with exaggerated air quotes. “...and making the shop owner look like a major speciest in the process. Though in hindsight, I guess the owner was a little justified...”

“Judy.”

“Right. Anyway, their act was so good that they even fooled me, so I stepped in and convinced the owner to sell Nick a jumbo-pop. He even tricked me into paying for it!” She shook her head ruefully. “It wasn’t until later that day that I happened to cross paths with them again. It turned out that they were melting the jumbo-pop down for the syrup, then re-freezing it into much smaller ‘pawpsicles’ that they could sell individually.”

“And how did you feel about that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know...a little betrayed, I guess?”

“And how did you respond to that feeling?”

“I tried to confront him about it.” She winced. “It didn’t go well. He belittled me, patronized me, brushed off my dreams as a pointless fantasy, then lured me into a puddle of wet cement and walked away laughing.”

“That must have been difficult.”

“It was more than difficult; he completely steamrolled me. I came it so confident and self-assured and he swatted me like a fly.”

“What did you do then?”

“Got on with my job, I guess. It got pretty tough to maintain a positive attitude, but I held on as best I could. It didn’t help that the first time I took the initiative and caught a thief, I actually got in trouble for it.” The bunny scowled. “Then when I offered to help a citizen in need, I nearly got _fired_. I had to make an absurd deal with Chief Bogo just to hold on to my badge.”

“What kind of deal was that?”

“He gave me forty-eight hours to solve a missing mammal case the ZPD hadn’t cracked in two weeks.”

“Did you feel that was fair?”

“Of course not, but I was desperate!” She insisted. “What I didn’t know at the time was that the case file was practically non-existent. I had nothing to go on other than a photo of the last time the victim was seen, and I didn’t have access to the ZPD database yet.”

“You found a solution, though?”

“Well, based on the photo I determined that Nick was the last one to see the victim before they vanished. I figured he probably wouldn’t be willing to offer his assistance freely, though, so I...and I’m not exactly proud of this...I got a copy of his tax records and threatened to arrest him for income tax evasion if he didn’t help me.”

“I see.” Akili responded neutrally. “I’m curious, how did you get access to Mr. Wilde’s tax records if you weren’t in the system yet?”

“I...” She blinked at him owlishly. “I think I asked Clawhauser to get them for me.”

“How did Mr. Wilde react to being coerced?”

“I couldn’t have solved the case without him, but lord knows he wasn’t very helpful at first. When I needed to run a licence place, he took us to the DMV to get a sloth’s help. A _sloth!_ It took _forever_!”

“You couldn’t have asked Officer Clawhauser to run the plate for you, as well?”

“There wasn’t time.” She replied offhandedly. “Nick and I were already on our way to Tundratown Limo Service.”

Doctor Akili’s brow furrowed for a moment and he jotted down another quick note.

“Things got a little crazy after that, but long story short it turns out that a shrew I saved while chasing Weaselton – that was the thief - was the daughter of a very influential mammal in Tundratown. He was able to give us our next big lead.”

“That’s quite a coincidence.”

“Yeah.” She smiled sheepishly. “I guess four rabbit’s feet are good for a little extra luck.”

“It seems that the two of you went on quite the adventure.”

“That’s one word for it, I guess. It certainly had a few harrowing moments.” She shivered. “Like when our next witness, a jaguar named Manchas, went berserk and we ended up running for our lives through the Rainforest District. He had Nick cornered on a gondola platform, and if I hadn’t been carrying a large pair of pawcuffs...”

“You saved him?”

“Twice. Once by cuffing Manchas and again by using a vine to swing us both to safety.” She beamed proudly. “I didn’t get that badge for nothing.”

“What happened next?”

“We led Chief Bogo and the rest of our backup to where we’d left Manchas, but there was no sign of him.”

“He was gone?”

She nodded. “Bogo thought I’d just imagined the whole thing.”

“That must have been frustrating.”

“It was. He even tried to go back on our deal and ordered me to hand over my badge right there.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Nope.” She grinned. “I stood my ground and told the Chief I still had eight hours left.”

“That must’ve taken a great deal of courage.”

She hesitated, then gave a small shrug. “You’re right. I wish I could say the same about myself.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean, I wish I’d been able to stand up to Bogo myself.” She smiled crookedly. “I was lucky Nick came to my defense like he did.”

“That...sounds very noble of him.”

“I couldn’t have solved the case without him.” She nodded, her expression turning sad. “And even after that, I still didn’t trust him.”

“What do you mean?”

“After we’d cracked the case – it was Nick’s idea to use the traffic cams that led us to Mayor Lionheart, by the way – the ZPD held a press conference. I went up to give a statement and I must’ve gotten rattled because I...um...made some not-very-appropriate remarks.”

“I remember that.”

She winced. “I just keep remembering Nick’s face. He looked so betrayed. It’s no wonder he lost his temper.”

“Mr. Wilde was at the press conference?”

“Why wouldn’t he be? I couldn’t have solved the case without him!” She emphasized.

“Of course. I wasn’t implying otherwise.”

“Okay.” She nodded slowly. “Because I came back to apologize to him!”

“Came back?”

“From Bunnyburrow.” She added, explaining. “I needed to take some time off.”

“Why was tha-“

“Good thing, too. If I hadn’t been in Bunnyburrow, I’d never have spoken to Gideon Gray.” She interrupted. “And the first thing I did when I got back was find Nick and apologize. He accepted, and we solved the case, and he’s actually going to be joining the ZPD!”

“He is?”

“He sure is!” She confirmed happily. “He’s taking care of some things before going to the academy, but after he graduates, he and I are going to be partners.”

“You sound very enthusiastic about that.”

“I am! He’s going to be a great cop, and together we’re going to make the world a better place.”

“Well, I think that’s a good point to finish on. Our time is just about up.” Akili informed her, adding. “For today, at least.”

“Already? That wasn’t so bad.”

He smiled wryly at her. “I try to keep things as painless as I can.”

“Good thing, too.” Judy gave the doctor a playfully stern glare. “I’d hate to have to arrest you.”

“Perish the thought.”

“I’d better get going then.” She hopped down from her seat and strode to the door, then paused to look back to Akili. “Where should I…?”

“Geoffrey is right outside. He’ll show you where to go.”

“Got it.” She smiled. “Have a nice day, Dr. Akili.”

“You as well, Judy.”

A few minutes after the bunny had left, Akili heard a light tapping on the doorframe. He looked up to see one of his colleagues. “Martha. What can I do for you?”

Taking that as an invitation, the deer walked in and took a seat in the same chair Hopps had occupied. “I noticed that you just finished up with Judy Hopps?”

“That’s right.”

“I handled her intake interview, after her superiors sent her in for assessment.”

“Yes, I read your notes.”

“I’d like to hear your impressions on her condition.”

He took a moment to consider his response. “I think it’s too early to make a diagnosis.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, accustomed to Akili’s occasionally withholding nature. “I’m not asking for a diagnosis, Evan. I just want to hear what you _think._ ”

“Fine.” Leaning back into his seat, Akili sighed and loosened his tie. “We discussed some of the events surrounding the Missing Mammals case. Her account seems a little...off.”

“I noticed some inconsistencies, myself.” Martha agreed. “I reached out to her family, but they weren’t able to provide much in the way of insight.”

“Damn.” Akili frowned. “That was going to be my next step.”

“Don’t worry; it wasn’t a total bust. They told me that during the two and a half months Hopps was out of town, she showed signs of increasing social detachment and erratic emotional responses. She’d also express feelings of responsibility or guilt for several events – some of which can’t be confirmed as having actually happened.”

“That really begs the question, what did she and Gideon Grey talk about that caused such a dynamic change in her?”

“Who?” Martha asked, confused.

“Gideon Grey. Someone she spoke to before leaving Bunnyburrow. Apparently it had quite an impact.”

She shook her head. “Her parents never mentioned anything about that. They said that she was working at one of their family’s roadside stands when, without warning, she started yelling about nighthowlers and took off in her father’s pickup truck.”

“I see. That does seem to fit the pattern that has been forming.”

“Pattern?”

Akili shook his head. “I assume that when the two of you spoke, she mentioned Nicholas Wilde?”

Laughing softly, Martha nodded. “She did indeed. If I’m not mistaken, she’s rather taken with him.”

“I got the same impression. However, there is absolutely no evidence that a red fox named Nicholas Wilde lives in Zootopia. And believe me, the ZPD have looked. The new mayor wanted to present him with a medal, but Hopps said that he was unavailable. ‘Taking care of some things’ were her exact words, I believe.”

“You seem skeptical.”

“Very.” He drawled. “Although she’s able to describe their experiences together in clear detail, her version of events routinely differs from the accounts of other mammals. She recounts an incident at a Rainforest District, for instance, where Nicholas Wilde stood up to her superior on her behalf. The reality, corroborated by both officer accounts and body cameras, is that Hopps was alone at the time and uncharacteristically stood up for herself.”

“She doesn’t remember it that way?”

Akili paused, glancing at his notes again. “Actually, the first time she told the story she said that she stood up for herself. When I commended her courage, however, she changed her story.”

“She doesn’t seem the type to shy away from praise.”

“That’s not all. Hopps insists that Wilde was at the press conference, but Precinct One security footage shows no sign of any fox being present that day. Although, to be fair, there was a brief period prior to her statement when Hopps was standing in a blind spot between cameras.”

“You think he wasn’t at the press conference?”

“Martha, I don’t think he was there for _anything_.” Akili shook his head, waving his hoof at the file folder on the table between them. “I feel like there are entirely too many times when Wilde served as a deus ex machina. When faced with an impossible situation, he’d come to the rescue in some fantastical and extremely convenient manner.”

“And that’s suspicious?”

“Tell me; what’s more likely? That a mysterious fox just happened to have a contact at the DMV who could run a licence plate? Or that a ZPD officer just walked in and asked the same thing, which would be entirely within her authority to do. That she and this fox fooled a brilliant, if twisted, mind with a little play-acting? Or that Bellwether hadn’t even shot at her, and that the other ZPD officers arrived before she could. And let’s not even begin on the convoluted mess regarding the limo driver and this supposed ‘influential mammal’ in Tundratown.”

“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”

“I already told you that it’s too early to make a definitive diagnosis.”

“Humor me. What’s your guess?”

He sighed wearily. “Fine. If I had to _guess,_ I’d say that Ms. Hopps displays many of the symptoms associated with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and that Nicholas Wilde – possibly Gideon Grey, as well - are nothing more than a construct of her imagination. I believe they represent her attempt to reconcile her desire to help mammals as a police officer, her subconscious fear that she isn’t really capable of doing so, and her guilt over her inherent distrust of predators in general and foxes in particular. Through them, she can resolve these issues without having to face them directly.”

“That’s a bold assessment.”

“Well, why else would the press conference affect her so profoundly? Up on that stage, she had no proxy. She was alone, forced to face the consequences of her actions.”

“I still think you’re reaching.”

“Perhaps, but you _did_ ask for a guess.” He shrugged, standing and unhurriedly moving toward the filing cabinet “In any case, I’m recommending that Ms. Hopps be committed to this facility until such time as she can be _properly_ diagnosed and treated.”

“Wow. She seemed so...sincere.” Martha sighed, rising from her seat.

“From her perspective, she is.”

“I guess that’s true. Even so, it’s a damn shame.”

“Yes.” Akili nodded, placing Judy’s file amongst the many others. “It always is.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this from an uncomfortable chair in the Salt Lake City airport while I was on an absurdly long layover. At the time, I had absolutely NO IDEA that Dreams by SophieRipley even existed. Honest to god, I thought that this was an original(ish) idea. 
> 
> Hers is better, anyway. - http://archiveofourown.org/works/7880635


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